


to new beginnings

by dornish_sphinx



Category: Dead To Me (TV)
Genre: F/F, Post-Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:08:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24457192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dornish_sphinx/pseuds/dornish_sphinx
Summary: Michelle is wondering if it's a good idea to call Judy when she finds out about the accident.
Relationships: Michelle Gutierrez/Judy Hale
Comments: 18
Kudos: 59





	1. The phone call

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first work on ao3 and it's been years since the last time I actually posted something I wrote. I just can't accept the lack of Judy x Michelle stories, they deserve so much more!  
> I hope you enjoy it :)

_Hey  
_

_I've heard that your mother left the hospital. Last week, actually. I just thought you'd want some space on the first few days. Is a week space enough?  
By the way, how is Flo doing? I hope she's fine  
_

_I know I'm not in the position to ask you anything but I think you deserve to know the truth  
If you are interested  
_

_I almost went to your place or even to the cafe to look for you, just because I miss you so much, but I realized that's exactly what a stalker would do and I'm definitely not one. I also want you to come to me whenever you are ready, if you ever want to talk to me again  
_

_I'm probably annoying the shit out of you with my texts, aren't I? I'm sorry about that  
_

_I can stop that if you want  
_

_Well, I'll take your silence as a sign that I'm not being that annoying. Turns out Jen was right, I am clingy  
_

_Look, I'm really sorry for everything that happened. You deserve so much more than a walking mess like me. You are an amazing woman and I shouldn't have hidden anything important from you. I swear I never meant to hurt you. All I ever wanted was make you as happy as you made me feel  
_

_Fun fact: I didn't destroy that car  
_

_Please, don't tell Perez I said that  
_

_By now I should have already accepted that you are not talking to me ever again... And I don't blame you for that. I just can't lose my hope, you know? I mean, what are twelve ignored messages close to five miscarriages, right?  
_

_I was keeping it to say in person but I guess I'll have to say it here or never say it at all. I'm sorry, Michelle. I mean it. You are the one person I care about that never, ever said or did anything to hurt me. You are the only one that never made me cry. For the short period of time that we were together, you were nothing but kind to me. And knowing that I somehow hurt this person is killing me. Maybe I didn't deserve your good energy, after all. I'm sorry I screwed it up  
_

_**This message was deleted**_

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Michelle smiled at her mother as she watched her successful attempts to feed herself. Flo Gutierrez was too stubborn to accept her daughter's help with this task, so Michelle had to sit there while Flo's shaking hand moved slowly from the plate to her mouth over and over again. Her mother said she didn't really have to stay there watching her, but Michelle knew better than that − if she left the woman alone during dinner, latter she would be accused of not caring enough for her own mother. After the stroke, the daughter was trying harder to spend more time with Flo and avoid any arguments. Michelle even hired a nurse to take care of her while she was at work and cancelled the contract with the retirement house. At least she didn't have to hear how much Flo hated the place; on the other hand, Michelle was starting to struggle in other to make ends meet.  


But that wasn't her main concern at the moment. The chef was actually sharing her attention between Flo and her phone. She was trying to decide whether she should answer Judy's texts or not − and, if the answer was yes, how she would do it.  


She really liked Judy Hale and maybe she had overreacted, after all. Maybe taking a break in their relationship was the rational thing to do, since Ana − a person she had known for years and trusted with her life − actually believed that that woman might be dangerous. Not that Michelle was afraid of having the same destiny as the missing guy, she knew Judy was not a murderer. A stalker and a destroyer of private property, probably, but not a murderer. So maybe she had overreacted to the news.  


Yeah, Michelle should definitely call her.  


As the woman reached for the phone, it started to ring. For a second, she imagined Judy's name on the screen and her heart sunk when she realized it was actually Ana Perez. She wasn't in the mood for another conversation over her moving out of their house.  


"Hey, listen−"  


"Michelle, have you heard anything about Judy?" was not what she had expected.  


Perhaps it had something to do with the investigation? Had she found out that she was innocent? All she asked was "What do you mean?"  


"There was a car accident. She's in the hospital now."  


"How is she? Is she okay?" Michelle was already on her feet. On the other side of the table, Flo was staring confused.  


"Sorry, that's all I know."  


They fell into silence as she tried to make sense of the information.  


"Thank you, Ana. Why are you telling me that?"  


Another silence, and then a sigh. "Because she is special. She... She sees the good in people."

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	2. The visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy receives an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> It took me more than I imagined to finish this chapter, I'm sorry for that, but I'm glad to finally be able to post it. You have no idea how many times I had to reread it until I felt like it was ready.  
> I want to thank everyone who left me kudos and specially the people who commented my story. I loved the feedbak, you guys are amazing!  
> I hope you enjoy it :)

Judy was restless on her hospital bed. Not only because her body was sore but also because she couldn't stop thinking. The woman hadn't heard from Jen since they got into different ambulances a few hours ago. And the boys, they must be so scared and worried and lost. First their father was hit by a car, now their mother. Judy Hale wanted more than anything to get rid of those stupid tubes stuck into her veins and find them, hold them and tell them everything was going to be okay. But, again, she didn't know if that was accurate. No, Jen had to be fine. She was half conscious when they were rescued − the blonde had cursed a lot, which meant her head must be functioning well. 

Just when their problems were solved, something bad had to happen. It must be their karma. 

And there was this room, empty and cold and... Judy didn't really want to think about this. She would rather focus on good things, like being discharged from the hospital in less than 20 hours. The doctor said apparently there was nothing wrong with her body, Hale just had to stay there until they were sure about that. And then she could take Charlie and Henry home, or stay in the hospital with Jen... 

"Hey, you." 

Judy's head turned immediately to the source of the voice, that raspy voice that she thought would never talk to her ever again. Michelle was leaning against the threshold with a soft expression on her face, a weak smile on her lips and caring eyes, far different from the way she had looked at her the last time they saw each other. The painter suddenly felt warm despite the low temperature of the room and her lack of proper clothing. Judy just stared back, afraid to say the wrong thing and loose Michelle again − or discover that it was a dream or a hallucination caused by the medication. 

The truth was, after all the messages, she didn’t expect to see the woman again. Michelle wouldn’t have been the first to disappear of her life like that. 

"You're here." Hale almost whispered, trying hard not to smile. Michelle crossed the room and stopped next to the bed. 

"I came as soon as I knew." 

"How did you know?" 

"My ex called me. Can you believe that?" Judy actually could, so she just chuckled and got herself up in a sitting position to look at Michelle from a better angle. Her face became more serious. "I was about to call you, actually. You know, when she told me. I had decided to talk to you." 

A wave of emotions spread through Judy’s body and this time she couldn’t help but smile with all the happiness in her heart. So Michelle would have come to her, with or without the accident. 

"Shit. You should have done it, like, a few hours ago. I wouldn't have hit that car just to call your attention." 

Michelle’s shocked expression was quickly replaced by a smile. This time, they laughed together and it felt just like in the beginning, the two of them sharing some weed in Abe's car, laughing over random stuff and talking about everything. God, she missed that. 

"Michelle, about t-" 

"Judy, stop. We don't have to talk about it right now, all right? We have plenty of time once you get out of here." to make sure her words were understood, Gutierrez took Judy's hand into hers. 

"Okay." she whispered and nodded, biting her lip to conceal another smile. At this moment, there was nothing Judy could possibly do to stop herself from having hope for them, even though she knew it was a bad idea. Screw that, she would hope. "How is your mom? Is she recovering well?" 

The chef smiled at her with pure adoration in her eyes. "She's fine. I left her with a nurse. But it's you I'm worried about now." 

"I'm mostly concerned about Jen and the boys. If I wasn't stuck here, I could be there to support them and... I don't even know how Jen is. I’m worried sick." 

"I might be able to help with that. I talked to a friend of Jen's on my way to your room. Christopher, I guess? He told me Jen was stable but the doctor didn’t want give him any details before the exams were finished. And the kids are with their grandmother for now. Christopher is staying in the hospital until Jen gets better." 

"Thank goodness." 

"Yeah. But how are _you _feeling?" she insisted.__

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__“I’m fine.” this answer was more like a reflex, actually. Michelle knew it too, so she tightened the grip on Hale’s hand to encourage her. “I mean, I feel better now I know Jen is not at risk. But... I really hate hospitals.” her voice cracked during the last words, her face twitched with the sudden pain and before Judy noticed she was weeping._ _

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__Gutierrez immediately embraced the woman’s shaking body and held her in silence. Everytime Judy set foot in a hospital it was caused by a bad thing, mostly the death of her unborn children. To make things worse, this time she was alone. Had she suffered the accident alone, of course Jen, Charlie and Henry would be there for her − but that wasn’t the case._ _

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__Before Michelle arrived, she had been so lonely. When Judy was by herself in moments like this, it was so easy to fall into a spiral of dark thoughts and horrible memories. Now, there was just Michelle Gutierrez._ _

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__“Your hair still smells so good. I missed that.” the painter said against Michelle’s shoulder after a few minutes. Judy had a lot of things to say, starting with how glad she was that the other woman still cared about her, but maybe that would be too much. Anyway, the chef probably had to go back to her mother at any moment._ _

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__“Thank you. And I missed you too.” Hale finally let her out of the hug and wiped her tears to look at her face and make sure she was serious. _Michelle had missed her too._ __

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__“I was wondering... If I hypothetically asked you to stay just a little bit longer... What would you say?”_ _

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__“Hypothetically, I would be offended.” Judy’s body froze and she looked away, embarrassed. Fuck, why did she have to say that? Of course, it was asking too much. Now Michelle was laughing in that luscious way, laughing at _her _. “I paid the nurse to look after my mother for the whole night, so I was kind of expecting to stay more than just a little bit. But I understand that you are so busy...”_ _ __

_I love you._

__She smiled broadly, unable to say anything at all. The same hospital where she had lost the woman she loved was the place where she was getting her back, even if it was only for one night. Tomorrow Judy might have to tell her everything − about the money laundry, Ted, Jen and Steve, and all the bad things she had done and the lies she had told during the last months − but right now they were fine. They were together._ _

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__“That sounds perfect.”_ _

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to hear your thoughts about it <3


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